Community Corner

Final 2014 California Snowpack Measurement is Dismal

Water officials say state in for hot, dry summer.

The final snow survey of the year has made it clear that California is in for a long and hot summer after a near-record dry winter, Department of Water Resources officials announced Friday. 
 
The third and final manual and electronic readings conducted this year measured water levels in the state's snowpack, which normally provides a third of the water for the state's farm and cities, at 18 percent of the year-to-date average, according to the department. 
 
Officials said electronic readings show water content in the northern Sierra snowpack is at seven percent of the average level and readings for the central and southern Sierra were at 24 and 18 percent of normal levels. 
 
The low snowpack levels, coupled with the end of the wet season, likely means late-season storms will not significantly dampen the effects of a three-year drought currently affecting farms and communities, according to the department.

—By Bay City News


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